Jay Haas wins the Toshiba Classic in a playoff

At 62, Jay Haas has plenty of wonderful memories during a stellar career. Surely the 2016 Toshiba Classic will be among them.

Haas’ week started in Pennsylvania, where he said good-bye to his friend Arnold Palmer during an emotional memorial service in Latrobe on Tuesday.

Haas kept the legendary golfer in his thoughts, in his heart, as he took a charter flight to Orange County, where he arrived on Tuesday night.

Haas’ week ended with a victory in the 22nd annual Toshiba Classic that he secured with a one-hole playoff win against Bart Bryant at Newport Beach Country Club on Sunday. Haas became the second-oldest golfer to win an event in Champions Tour history.

“To play well and to be the champion here the week that Arnold passed is awfully special,” Haas said. “Hopefully, he’s smiling. I used to get a letter from him almost every time I won a tournament. Maybe I’ll look in my desk and there might be another one in there when I get back.”

It was the second time Haas won the Toshiba Classic, as he was the champion in 2007. He joined Fred Couples and Hale Irwin as those who have won the Toshiba twice. Haas, a nine-time PGA Tour winner who has 18 Champions Tour victories, was runner up in 2008, when he lost a seven-hole playoff against Bernhard Langer.

This time, Haas would not be denied in a playoff against Bryant, who struggled on the par-five, 496-yard No. 18 hole.

“Just to win, to know that I can do it again at 62 is pretty amazing,” Haas said. “At 60, when I won the last time, I thought that’s pretty good. I wouldn’t have thought I would still be playing golf in a tournament competitively at 60, but still doing this out here. This course sets up nice for me and I was able to take advantage of it.”

Haas (64-63-70—197), who entered the final round with a five-shot lead, played the first playoff hole just right. He hit it on the fairway to 242 yards for his second shot and then got to about eight feet outside the green. He made a great chip to a foot from the cup to set up the birdie.

Bryant (67-66-64 – 197) saw his drive go way left into the trees. His second shot landed on the deck of a grandstand club suite. He had to drop it against the grandstand. Bryant then shot it on the green but it went past the hole and off the green again. After Haas made birdie, Bryant’s long putt just missed the hole, as Haas celebrated with his wife, Jan, who was his caddie.

Haas parred No. 18 in regulation to finish in a tie with Bryant, who bogeyed No. 18 after sinking in a 50-foot birdie putt on No. 17.

“I’m disappointed,” Bryant said afterward. “To bogey the 18th hole [in regulation], a reachable par 5, is extremely disappointing. Then to not make a very good run in the playoff is just fairly inexcusable to hit the two shots that I hit.”

Bryant’s big birdie on No. 17 gave him a short-lived one-shot lead in the tournament. It was the first time Haas had trailed in the Toshiba, as he was tied for the lead in the first round with Billy Mayfair.

John Daly, who was tied for third and six shots back after two rounds, attracted a large gallery during the final round. He began eagle, birdie, birdie to creep up the leaderboard and was three shots behind Haas, who opened with a birdie on the par-3, 332-yard No. 1 hole.

But Daly double bogeyed the next two holes to fall behind again. Daly (67-66-71) finished tied for 19th.

Larry Mize and Billy Andrade finished tied for third at 14-under.

Mike Goodes, Todd Hamilton, Kevin Sutherland and Fred Funk tied for fifth at 13-under.

At the conclusion of the tournament, Toshiba America Inc. announced a three-year-extension as title sponsor of the Toshiba Classic, which benefits Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. In addition, it was announced the Toshiba Classic will return to its traditional March date beginning in 2018.

“We’ve enjoyed and benefitted greatly from our partnership with our friends at Toshiba,” Tournament Chairman Ira Garbutt said in a release. “This extension and move to a more favorable date in the spring ensures this great tournament will continue to establish itself as an institution of Orange County sports and the crown jewel of the PGA Champions Tour until 2020.”